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The best conservative political news, analysis and opinion articles written by a collection of citizen journalists. Covering a range of important topics in blogs, op-ed, and news posts, these upstanding patriots are bringing back American exceptionalism with every entry..Sun, 01 Mar 2015 18:00:40 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1Economic Bumpshttp://www.conservativedailynews.com/2011/06/economic-bumps/
http://www.conservativedailynews.com/2011/06/economic-bumps/#commentsTue, 07 Jun 2011 21:29:53 +0000http://conservativedailynews.com/?p=12496
]]>http://www.conservativedailynews.com/2011/06/economic-bumps/feed/0Question Arises: “Is Obama Certifiably Insane?”http://www.conservativedailynews.com/2010/10/question-arises-is-obama-certifiably-insane/
http://www.conservativedailynews.com/2010/10/question-arises-is-obama-certifiably-insane/#commentsThu, 21 Oct 2010 08:07:52 +0000http://conservativedailynews.com/?p=4866Rumors as to Barack Obama’s alleged mental instability have swirled just under the surface of the public’s knowledge for quite some time. Now, those rumors are gaining strength. The main stream media continues to ignore the story in order to protect Obama, but their firewall against the story is starting to crumble.

The blogosphere is starting to pay attention to the meme that Obama is losing his cookies, his marbles, and possibly even his grip on reality.

Is Barack Hussein Obama mentally stable?

There are even reports, supposedly coming from White House insiders that top Obama Administration officials are considering invoking Article 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, under which Obama would be removed from office due to his apparently growing inability to deal with the real world. Article 4 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution has never been invoked. The reports, transmitted by various bloggers, accuse Obama of suffering from severe depression, schizophrenia, paranoia, narcissism, and bi-polar disorder.

The following quotation comes from an article written by Anthony G. Martin of examiner.com that was published on October 20, 2010. As Rush Limbaugh would likely say…that’s yesterday for those of you in Rio Linda.

The journalist, Wayne Madsen, asserts that an anonymous former White House staffer—a ‘Deep Throat’ similar to the anonymous source in the Watergate Scandal that brought down the Nixon White House—is feeding insider information to a blogger who goes by the name of ‘Ulsterman.’

The assertions made by ‘Deep Throat’ are astounding…and frightening. The compilation of statements made by sources inside the White House paint a picture of a President who is in the throes of deep depression, and who exhibits no interest at all in the routine functions of the office of the President. Assertions also indicate that Obama is obsessed with the throngs he encounters on the campaign trail, and erroneously assumes they all adore him. – Wayne Madsen

Madsen, an experienced journalist with what appears to be an extraordinary source with access to the inner circles of the Obama administration, paints a picture of a White House in turmoil . It appears that Valerie Jarrett and Michelle Obama are desperately trying to keep Obama from the strait jacket and the rubber room.

Is Obama suffering from depression?

According to Madsen, see quote below, Jarrett and Michelle Obama are attempting to convince Obama that he is too good for the Office of President of the United States and that his destiny lies on a much larger stage. Assuming that Obama actually is a certifiable narcissist, this argument could well appeal to him. Obama might well relish the role of the elder stateman. Perhaps he looks at Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Jimmy Carter and sees himself. Perhaps he craves the fame that comes from leading the United Nations. Time will tell.

WMR has learned that Obama’s paranoia and severe depression over his correct belief that certain interests are out to get him have been mitigated by First Lady Michelle Obama and domestic policy adviser Valerie Jarrett. Mrs. Obama has been telling Obama that he should forgo a second term because he is “too good for the American people” and he has a future role on a “bigger world stage.” – Wayne Madsen.

The blogger named Ulsterman posted an opinion piece on September 7, 2010 that quotes this Deep Throat source allegedly within the White House. This obscure editorial has gone relatively unnoticed on the national stage, but that too, is likely to change, given the blockbuster news contained in that opinion column. For example, concerning Obama’s mental state:

In just a few words, how would you describe him these days? Like I said, it’s been a while since I was last at the White House, but I don’t have a problem saying that the president is losing it. I don’t mean he is like losing his mind. I mean to say that he is losing whatever spark he had during the campaign. When you take away the crowds, Obama gets noticeably smaller. He shrinks up inside of himself. He just doesn’t seem to have the confidence to do the job of President, and it’s getting worse and worse. Case in point – just a few days before I left, I saw first hand the President of the United States yelling at a member of his staff. He was yelling like a spoiled child. And then he pouted for several moments after. I wish I was kidding, or exaggerating, but I am not. The President of the United States threw a temper tantrum. The jobs reports are always setting him off, and he is getting increasingly conspiratorial over the unemployment numbers. I never heard it myself, but was told that Obama thinks the banking system is out to get him now. That they and the big industries are making him pay for trying to regulate them more. That is the frame of mind the President is in these days. And you know what? Maybe he is right, who knows?- Blogger Ulsterman quoting unnamed source allegedly with access to confidential White House information.

It should be noted that the mysterious Deep Throat is a dedicated Democrat. His goal is Democratic control of government. It is remarkable that he is coming forth with criticisms of Obama’s mental state. In Deep Throat’s opinion, apparently, Obama threatens the goal of leftist control of government, i.e., Obama has become a liability in the political sense for the Democrats. And, Mr. Deep Throat says that Obama’s mental weaknesses have opened up a Pandora’s Box of White House Infighting the like of which Deep Throat has never before witnessed in his 30 years as a political operative.

For example, Obama’s relationship to Vice President Joe Biden:

And you state he despises Joe Biden? Oh yeah. That is very well known in the White House. Obama chose Biden for one reason – to have an older white guy with some international policy credentials. Period. If Biden has all of this international experience that Obama found so valuable, why has he buried him under the pile of crap that became the stimulus bill? What does Joe Biden know about budgets and economics? Not much – but Obama didn’t care. Give Joe a job and get him the hell out of my hair – that pretty much sums up the president’s feelings toward Joe Biden.- Blogger Ulsterman quoting unnamed source allegedly with access to confidential White House information.

And then there’s the power struggle between Obama and Hillary Clinton.

What about Hillary Clinton? Obama is scared to death of Hillary. He doesn’t trust her – obsesses over her almost as much as he does Fox News. He respects her though, which might be why he fears her so much as well. He talks the game, but when it comes down to it, she has played the game on a far tougher level than he has, and Obama knows that. – Blogger Ulsterman quoting unnamed source allegedly with access to confidential White House information.

The pressures of dealing with political opportunists such as Biden and Hillary Clinton appear to be of minor concern when compared to the psychological landmine that is the 2010 midterm elections. Well, almost a minor concern. You see, Hillary’s political decisions are going to be made based on the state of the economy under Obama and also the results of the midterms – in which it is widely believed the Democrats are going to have their asses handed to them on a silver platter – all thanks to Obama and his radical leftist agenda.

In yet another article written by Ulsterman and based on an interview with Deep Throat, we learn more of the political meltdown of the Democratic Party – thanks to Obama’s stubborn refusal to abandon his radical agenda.

So how exactly has President Obama failed to help members of his own party? (Leans forward – clearly agitated.) Loyalty – loyalty – loyalty. This White House doesn’t give a damn for the concept of loyalty, dedication, sincerity. This White House is the most self-centered, arrogant, and ignorant…they just don’t care to know what they are doing. And when they do it – consequences mean nothing to them. NOTHING. And that is not to say it’s all bad at the White House. There are some very bright people working there. But you know what, those people have been marginalized, pushed aside, and are now leaving. You watch – the exodus from this White House will prove to be of historical proportions.

The question of Obama’s alleged slippage from sanity has even reached parody. Comics are starting in on Obama’s alleged mind meltdown, as evidenced by this video from The Onion.

Questions about Obama’s state of mental health have been circulating for several years. It is interesting that in addition to school, passport, and birth records, Obama has never released his medical records. This has given rise in the blogosphere to accusations that Obama may have been diagnosed with an emotional disorder and possibly even prescribed anti-psychotic medications earlier in his life. An example of one of the early blogs on Obama’s state of mental health comes from Mitchell Langbert who said this in November of 2008.

“Information is leaking that Barack Obama was treated for mental related illnesses in the 70’s and early 80’s and may have been prescribed anti-psychotic medications. Schizophrenia is the main reported diagnosis with possible case [of] severe depression…

“Yesterday the big talk in political chat rooms was Obama’s yet to be released medical record. Obama may still need prescribed medications for mental related issues. It is suspected that he has not been taking his medications consistently because of several episodes at recent campaign rallies…

“Barack Obama stands alone in the last three elections as the only candidate to not release medical records to the public.” – Mitchell Langbert

Langbert has more to say on the subject. Consider this:

I have several times suspected that Barack Obama is a sociopath, and recently read a blog that asserted a noted psychiatrist has contemplated whether Senator Obama suffers from narcissistic personality disorder, which overlaps with sociopathy. This latest rumor will be dismissed, but none of those who dismiss will have seen Senator Obama’s medical records. This has been a year of ex post rationalization, and wide-eyed willingness to be conned.” – Mitchell Langbert

It isn’t just Ulsterman and his Deep Throat who is reporting on Obama’s alleged mental instability. Here is yet another report that corroborates Deep Throat’s account of the matter. This time the blogger is Justpiper, another blogger with apparent access to the inner workings of a White House in disarray.

So you state that President Obama is depressed? How did you come by this information?

From a direct source still working within the White House on a daily basis. As I had stated previously, tensions at the White House have reached a critical stage. The infighting among staff is off the charts. More recently, the president has increasingly withdrawn emotionally from the day to day demands of his job – he has become what was described to me as “empty”.

Empty? That is correct – empty.

Do you mean to say the president is not doing his job?

Not exactly. He is there, he is getting briefed throughout the day, but President Obama appears to have emotionally shut down, not entirely mind you, but a great deal. It has worsened since I was last there. His natural detachment has become almost chronic to the point of being disconcerting to staff around him. It appears President Obama is suffering from severe depression.- Justpiper

The questions about Obama’s mental state are just starting to creep out of the blogosphere and into the main stream media via the MSM’s back door – reader forums. For example, here is a thread on this subject at Gainesville.com. Consider these tidbits from readers at Gainesville.com’s readers after Obama made a statement about an earthquake in Hawaii that never happened:

“Wasn’t Haiti one of the 57 states that Obama believes are part of the United States?” …”Probably. It’s becoming more and more obvious that Obama is an utter fool.”

“An incompetent imbecile is more like it.” “It’s time to impeach the Obama jackass.”

“Is Obama stupid, psychotic or both?”

“Obama is the most stupid president ever. Probably psychotic too.”

“It’s a shame we have such an inept imbecile in the White House.”

This emergence into the MSM, albeit, by their readers and not by their editorial staffs, poses a potentially fatal blow to the Obama presidency.

Pucker Up, Buttercup!

The longer the MSM ignores the topic, the more the American people will figure it out anyway, thanks to bloggers and political online forums. By not addressing the mental state of the President, the Obama Administration is allowing the blogosphere to define that mental state – and it won’t be a picture that Obama would approve of being out in the public. It will be instructive to see how well Obama handles the public’s rejection of him in the midterm elections. Despite Democrat protests to the contrary this election is indeed a referendum on Obama. It will be interesting to see if Obama can handle the massive personal rejection coming on November 2nd.

In the event that Obama is indeed checking out of reality, let’s review the 25th Amendment of the Constitution of the United States:

Amendment 25 – Presidential Disability and Succession.

In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

Given that Obama and Biden are apparently political foes, as alluded to above in this article, Biden has everything to gain by supporting the invocation of Article 4 of the 25th Amendment. All he needs is the cooperation of other administration officials and members of Congress – and that appears to be likely after the midterm bloodbath the Democrats are about to go through. Could it be that it won’t be just Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi to be thrown under the bus? Perhaps that bus is big enough for Obama too? Stay tuned. This isn’t over yet.

]]>http://www.conservativedailynews.com/2010/10/question-arises-is-obama-certifiably-insane/feed/2Congress to Enhance Smoot-Hawley – Protectionist Cause of the Great Depressionhttp://www.conservativedailynews.com/2010/10/congress-to-enhance-smoot-hawley-protectionist-cause-of-the-great-depression/
http://www.conservativedailynews.com/2010/10/congress-to-enhance-smoot-hawley-protectionist-cause-of-the-great-depression/#commentsTue, 05 Oct 2010 22:08:27 +0000http://conservativedailynews.com/?p=4548Smoot-Hawley was officially named the “Tarrif Act of 1930″. The act raised or enacted tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods. This incredibly protectionist move is largely credited with creating the Great Depression. Our current leadership thinks we should try it again.

In a Wall Street Journalarticle the point is made that we may be headed into another Great Depression.

What’s worse, we’re close to repeating the mother of all policy errors, the one made not in 1937 but in 1930—the one that started the Great Depression. We’re on track to resurrect the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act.

..

Last week the House passed the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act. It’s an amendment that gives dangerous new protectionist powers to the notorious Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, the proximate cause of the global Great Depression, which after all these years is still on the books

The bill is official named the “Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act” and is H.R.2378 if you’d like to read the full text here. The first paragraph lays it out.

To amend title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930 to clarify that countervailing duties may be imposed to address subsidies relating to a fundamentally undervalued currency of any foreign country.

Basically, the bill proposes that we will put a new or increased duty on any products from a country that has a currency that we view as undervalued. China will meet almost every description of an undervalued currency that is present in the bill. By imposing huge tariffs on Chinese imports, a large portion of the inexpensive products Americans rely on, a trade war and perilous inflation are the two results we should expect.

But is this kind of protectionism really all that bad? Let’s review history and how the Smoot-Hawley tariff act affected the American economy. In all fairness, the trade war that set the scene for the worst financial disaster in American history, was set in motion in 1921. Warren Harding then enacted the Emergency Tariff Act of 1921 which paved the way for the Tarrif Act of 1922. Between the two of these laws, America put unprecedented duties on agricultural goods.

As the existing tariffs had not seemed to have caused a calamity (unless you were in the agriculture sector) the political leaders in America pushed for much more sweeping duties on hundreds of thousands of imported products.

As for Hoover, he was determined to raise tariffs and by June 1930, when a delegation of bishops and bankers paid him a visit to ask for more public works projects amidst a tumbling economy, the President told them, “Gentlemen, you have come sixty days too late. The Depression is over.” On June 16, he then issued a statement through the newspapers that he would be signing a bill, in an attempt to aid those businesses damaged by the downturn. [1]

No parallels there.. Obama has declared the Recession over and Congress is putting in the Currency Reform Act to increase tariffs on tens of thousands of imported goods in the hopes aiding American businesses hurt in the recent downturn. That whole thing about not learning from history and dooming ourselves to repeat it thing is echoing loudly .. for some of us.

And here’s a little video that shows how Smoot-Hawley affected us then and what we may be doing to ourselves yet again.

In a recent Telegraph article, it is suggested that President Obama is making some historic mistakes in the handling of the American economy. The author goes so far as to say that these mistakes are the same as those made by leaders just before and during one of the darkest financial times in U.S. history – the Great Depression.

The basis for this concern is that Obama’s belief that Keynesian economic policies will return the U.S. economy to growth by printing money and stuffing it back into the economy. Short-term this will create false and unsustainable spikes of growth. If the economy doesn’t grow organically, it will have no support. This creates a spiral of out-of-control spending to prop-up the false economy with more printing and spending. It is precisely these policies that made the depression longer and deeper in the United States than in other countries where they took more of a laissez-faire approach – most of which had come out of the depression by 1931.

As a side-effect, the dollar will drastically weaken as an oversupply of money is created. This will inflate the cost of goods as it will take many more dollars to purchase commodities. High inflation will suppress demand and increase the velocity of the economic death-spiral. Of course, Keynesians would print and spend more to combat the ever-decreasing G.D.P. which keeps this whole circle of ineptitude going. (print more money->spend it->weakened dollar->inflation->decreased demand->increased unemployment->rinse and repeat).

Many economists also point at Hoover’s mercantilist trade policies as a factor in worsening the depression in America. The Smoot-Hawley tariff act was a protectionist law that raised tariffs on 20,000 imported goods. In a move showing a naivety of economic history, President Obama is suggesting a 55% tariff on Chinese goods. When taken with Obama’s anti-free trade rhetoric, striking similarities to President Hoover’s errant thinking become evident.

Let’s not forget the draconian tax increases that come with the Keynesian belief that the government must stabilize demand during times of economic trouble. By the end of 1931 President Hoover recommended a gigantic income tax increase in an effort to save the country from skyrocketing deficits. Marginal rates rose by as much as 38% to a high of 63% on taxable income and the effect on household spending was dramatic. Barack Obama is already floating trial balloons on the subject of middle-class tax increases to pay for all the entitlements and other government spending he is promoting.

Some argue that we are not heading into repeat of 1929-1937. In Steven Levitt’s article, This is Not Another Great Depression, Levitt makes the case that we are not on the road to a depression because G.D.P. has not changed when evaluated between Q4 2007 and Q4 2008. But what about the 4 successive declines1 from Q3 2008 through the second quarter of 2009 – a total drop of almost 3% and a trend that has not yet reversed.

Unemployment statistics are also in stark disagreement with Levitt’s assertion. Since the start of the recession near the end of 2007, unemployment has gone from 4.9% to its present 9.7%. During the height of the depression era, unemployment swelled to over 20%, but if we look at 1930 when the depression was beginning to take hold, the unemployment rate was only 8.9% – nearly a point lower than today.

Today’s employment numbers are also less accurate than those kept during the depression. Currently, if a worker becomes discouraged and just quits looking, he falls out of the statistics. That person is no longer unemployed. Some estimations2 put the disparity due to this difference in accounting at somewhere between 5% and 10%. That would put our current unemployment rate, adjusted for the rules used in the depression, at between 14.8% and 19.8% – much worse than during the start of the depression and approaching dangerously close to the worst numbers achieved in the 1930’s.

Just prior to the Great Depression, Russian economist Nikolai Kondratiev made the case that economies had super-cycles of roughly forty-to-sixty years. With the darkest days of the 1930’s roughly seventy years behind us, Nikolai would say we are due.

Looking at history, the assertion could be made that our leaders should consider doing less, spending less, and printing far less money if they truly wish to avoid an economic disaster. The interventionist attitude of the current administration is already showing itself to be repeating history. Canada is already adding jobs3 to their economy while losses mount-up in the United States. Canada and other countries that are taking far more hands-off approaches, are already coming out of their recessions while we appear to be going deeper into the abyss.